1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to the field of maneuver control of a vehicle traveling through a fluid medium and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus to control one or more of a vehicle""s center-of-pressure, pitch, and yaw motion by actively controlling the shape of a flared surface using planar actuation.
2. Description of the Related Art
One application that exhibits an immediate need for the benefits provided by this invention is a missile. A missile can be described as an elongated body that travels through a fluid medium. The control of a missile flying in the atmosphere is accomplished by imparting a moment to rotate the nose of the missile to an angle with the oncoming flow. Moments can be generated with aerodynamic devices, e.g., canards or fins, or propulsive devices, e.g., thrusters. This invention actively controls an aerodynamic device, or more particularly a flare.
A traditional approach for active control of a flare surface splits the flare into several petals and provides actuation for each petal. This approach would most likely maintain the flare in a nominally deflected position and deflect a petal or combination of petals outward into the fluid flow to perform pitch and yaw maneuvers.
The present invention is directed to resolving, or at least reducing, one or all of the problems mentioned above.
The invention is, in its various embodiments and implementations, a method and apparatus for planar actuation of a flared surface to control a vehicle. In one aspect, the invention comprises an apparatus for controlling a vehicle capable of moving through a fluid medium. The apparatus includes a flare; a planar yoke operably associated with the flare; a plurality of actuators capable of moving the planar yoke to manipulate the flare through the operable association between the planar yoke and the flare; and a load bearing structure through which the translating means imparts a moment from the flare to the vehicle. In a second aspect, the invention comprises a method for controlling the maneuvering of a vehicle capable of moving through a fluid medium. The method includes moving a planar yoke to deflect at least a portion of a flare.